Renewable Energy Transition Key to Addressing Climate Change Challenge

• by Nalisha Kalideen (bonn, germany)
• Wednesday, January 13, 2021
• Inter Press Service

“The power that powers our day by day lives our economies additionally alone produces about 80 p.c of world emissions,” Birol famous whereas addressing the digital COP26 Virtual Roundtable on Clean Power Transition earlier this week on Jan. 11.

And because the UN plans to give attention to constructing a worldwide coalition for carbon neutrality by the center of this present century, there might be elevated focus and a push in the direction of offering clear, renewable power to all by 2030.

Clear and renewable power was the main focus of debate of this weeks COP26 Digital Roundtable on Clear Energy Transition.

Birol mentioned the excellent news was that China, the European Union, UK and Japan have formidable 2050 internet zero emission targets. He mentioned he was optimistic that when he took workplace, United States President Elect Joe Biden would make comparable commitments and different main creating nations might be part of. The joint world emissions by the present international locations dedicated to the online zero emission targets quantity to 60 p.c of the world’s emissions.

“The problem is tips on how to rework these ambitions into actual power motion,” Birol mentioned. He mentioned in gentle of this the IEA was going to introduce the world’s first roadmap to internet zero emissions by 2030, scheduled to be launched on Might 18 in order that it may be used for enter for COP26.

The roadmap will define how the world wants to remodel the power sector, how a lot funding is required and what must be achieved to achieve the goal and “present a concrete plan for all of us”.

United Nations Secretary-Common António Guterres, additionally addressed theCOP26 Digital Roundtable on Clear Energy Transition, saying that to attain internet zero emissions by 2050, an pressing transition from fossil fuels to renewable power was wanted but in addition that creating international locations wanted to supported with this shift.

Noting the figures of some 789 million folks throughout the globe with out entry to electrical energy — the vast majority of whom reside in sub-Saharan Africa, Guterres mentioned that whereas all nations want to have the ability to present electrical energy to all, this power wanted to be “clear and renewable so it doesn’t contribute to the damaging heating of our planet”.

In line with the IEA, whereas the variety of folks with out entry to electrical energy has decreased over previous years — with some two-thirds of the world’s progress occurring in India “the place the federal government introduced that greater than 99 p.c of the inhabitants had entry to electrical energy in 2019, because of the formidable Saubhagya Scheme launched in October 2017” — reaching a low in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has reversed previous positive factors significantly in sub-Saharan Africa.

“Sub-Saharan Africa, house to three-quarters of the worldwide inhabitants with out entry to electrical energy, has been significantly laborious hit, and up to date progress achieved within the area is being reversed by the results of the pandemic: our first estimates point out that the inhabitants with out entry to electrical energy may improve in 2020 for the primary time since 2013,” IEA states in its SDG7 Data and Projections report.

Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO of Sustainable Energy for All, Particular Consultant of the UN Secretary-Common for Sustainable Vitality for All, co-chair of UN-Vitality, and co-chair of the COP Campaigns Vitality Transition, mentioned it could be unattainable to attain zero emissions with out delivering sustainable power to all.

“Now we have to make one thing clear. The power transition story can also be the power entry story, particularly in Africa. We should recognise that we can’t obtain internet zero emissions by 2050 with out delivering sustainable power for all by 2030,” she mentioned.

Ogunbiyi, who was the first female Managing Director of the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency, went on to say that 2021 was a pivotal yr for Sustainable Improvement Purpose 7 which focuses on entry to inexpensive and clear power for all.

She mentioned with lower than 10 years to go on the SDGs, the world should “now flip in the direction of supporting daring and bold plans that may ship influence at scale to assist obtain SDG 7 by 2030”.

Dr Akinumi Adesina, president of the African Improvement Financial institution (AfDB), which can also be a member of the COP26 power transition council, outlined what the financial institution was doing in assist of power transition throughout the African continent.

Adesina acknowledge that Africa had the bottom ranges of entry to power on the earth with 570 million folks with out electrical energy.

“The problem for Africa is straightforward. Africa has so little electrical energy. This presents an actual alternative to construct dependable, inexpensive and sustainable power methods for Africa,” Adesina mentioned. He mentioned this is among the explanation why the financial institution had launched the Mild Up and Energy Africa venture as one among its Excessive 5 priorities for remodeling the continent. Since 2015 the financial institution has supplied electrical energy for 16 million folks by focusing primarily on renewable power, Adesina mentioned.

Certainly, his feedback comes as simply final week the AfDB introduced it could roll out a second large electricity-generation venture this time within the the Sahel. The primary, largest solar energy venture on the earth is funded by the financial institution and based mostly in Morocco.

The bank stated that the Desert-to-Power project — which covers 11 international locations from Senegal within the west to Djibouti within the east, and contains the Sahel international locations of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger — when accomplished, “will flip the Sahel into one of many largest solar-power-generating areas on the earth”. The AfDB went on to state that the $20-billion programme “goals to provide 10 gigawatts of electrical energy by 2025, offering 250 million folks with energy, of whom not less than 90 million might be linked to the electrical energy grid for the primary time”.

“The financial institution has been on the forefront of transformative renewable power initiatives in Africa, together with large-scale concentrated solar energy initiatives, in Morocco…that are the most important on the earth, the wind to energy venture which is the most important in sub-Saharan Africa,” he mentioned, including that the AfDB would not assist coal initiatives.

“Unlocking that renewable power future will be sure that we now have a clear Africa, nevertheless, there are some challenges,” he mentioned, explaining that this included the intermittency of photo voltaic and wind, the necessity for baseload energy for grid stability, and the prohibitive prices of power storage with coverage and regulatory environments for renewable power.

Adesina mentioned the financial institution anticipated to take a position $10 billion over the following 5 years within the power sector.

In the meantime Ogunbiyi highlighted the significance of commitments in addition to their financing and technical assist for profitable transition to renewable power.

“Each the COP26 marketing campaign and the UN high-level dialogue on power should be mutually reinforcing, simply as power entry and power transition are assist one other,” Ogunbiyi mentioned. She mentioned that the UN power compact — an final result of the UN high-level dialogue on power — can be the place international locations can pledge their new formidable commitments on sustainable power in writing.

As member states, organisations, international locations and cities signal as much as the UN power compacts, Ogunbiyi mentioned it was crucial that the worldwide group rally round these commitments and assist them with financing and technical help.

In the meantime, Birol mentioned crucial to attaining internet zero emissions was bringing the world’s international locations collectively and offering momentum inside a world context.

COP26 might be hosted by the UK and held in Glasgow, Scotland Nov. 1 to 12 and will present the impetus for this momentum.

The UK introduced the Local weather Suitable Progress (CCG) programme — a £38 million fund that may give attention to supporting creating nations transition to inexperienced power.

Dr Amani Abou-Zeid, Commissioner for Vitality and Infrastructure on the African Union mentioned the that 900 million folks in Africa relied on charcoal and firewood for cooking.

“This isn’t solely an financial drawback however primarily an ethical situation and trigger,” Abou-Zeid mentioned.

Certainly the entry to power can also be about human rights.

Final September, Ogunbiyi led a panel on the UN International Compact’s Uniting Enterprise Reside occasion, the place Chebet Lesan, founding father of renewable power startup BrightGreen mentioned how their work in offering renewable cooking power to weak communities throughout Kenya and East Africa was impacting on a primary human proper.

https://youtu.be/ObmnJ16Rrw.

BrightGreen recycles submit harvest waste, waste left on farms after harvesting, after which processes the waste into gas that’s simply adaptable by clients.

“They don’t want a lot change in behaviour in switching price as a result of the purchasers we’re coping with are very danger opposed and really cash tight,” Lesan defined.

She mentioned in response to a query on tips on how to speed up power providers to Africa, she mentioned a key indicator was how good power entry providers improved the lives of individuals in Africa.

“We’re starting to grasp that as a lot as we’re within the cooking power area, our work is straight impacting probably the most primary human rights, even exterior power,” Lesan had mentioned.

© Inter Press Service (2021) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service